2020 Overall GT Teams’ champion Sorg Rennsport is set to make its 24H SERIES return at the season-opening Hankook 24H DUBAI with two BMW M4 GT4s. 

The German team, which will once again be supported by Swiss petroleum importer AVIA at the Dubai Autodrome on 13-14-15 January, took two class wins in 2020 en-route to the Overall GT Teams’ crown in the 24H SERIES Continents, one year on from its GT4-winning run in 2019. Prior commitment to the ADAC GT4 Germany for 2021 though meant the team competed only once in the 24H SERIES last year, finishing 4th in-class in Dubai.  

The 2022 Hankook 24H DUBAI will mark the tenth time the eponymous team of brothers Benjamin and Daniel Sorg will compete at CREVENTIC’s headline event. Significantly, it also marks the first time that Sorg Rennsport will compete with two cars in the GT4 class, both of which will be supported by AVIA. 

 “The GT4 class has a strong line-up of 13 cars, which will be a big challenge,” explains team principal Benjamin. “The crew of the #451 is very experienced and knows the car and the track. With the right tactics and the necessary ounce of racing luck, we can get on the podium. The second M4 is also manned by very experienced pilots who will do accordingly with a solid and consistent performance. "

“For the first time we are going into a race with two BMW M4 GT4s in AVIA racing design,” Daniel, also team principal, continues. “With the tenth race in the emirate, we also have an anniversary. I am confident that in the first endurance race of the new season, we will be able to cover the distance solidly and celebrate our first successes in Dubai.”

Björn Simon – who, together with José Manuel de los Milagros, secured the Overall GT Drivers’ title in 2020 – will return to 24H SERIES action in the lead #451 BMW alongside Olaf Meyer, Stefan Beyer, Stephan Epp, and Michael Nielsen. Meyer took GT4 honours with Sorg Rennsport at the 2020 Hankook 16H HOCKENHEIMRING, while Beyer and Epp most recently competed in the NLS. Nielsen meanwhile was crowned Dutch Endurance Champion in Class 1 in 2015. 

“I am very happy to be part of the [Hankook] 24H DUBAI for the third time after 2019 and 2020,” explains former champion Björn Simon. “Fighting for positions with almost 90 cars on a Grand Prix circuit is always a great challenge and the perfect start to the new season.”

In the sister #452 entry, Mexico’s Benito Tagle will team with Francisco Sapien, Dmytro Ryzhak, Alexander W. Wetzlich and Hans Joachim Theiss. Tagle makes his first series start since taking TC class victory in Dubai in 2020, while Wetzlich will similarly compete with CREVENTIC for the first time since taking a CUP1 podium at the 2018 Hankook 24H PORTIMAO. Theiss and Ryzhak most recently competed in the NLS, and make their respective 24H SERIES debuts in Dubai. 

"This is my first time driving the 24-hour race in Dubai and I think of the words of Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum: ‘we should always be practical, realistic and optimistic’,” Hans Joachim Theiss explains. “With my team, Sorg Rennsport, I am looking forward to an exciting and beautiful race in Dubai and I hope for an appropriate success.”

In its previous nine entries at the Hankook 24H DUBAI, Sorg Rennsport has competed across four different categories. After taking two 3rd place finishes in A5 in 2013 and 2014, the German outfit went on to win the CUP1 class in 2017. Its most recent podium finish was in GT4 in 2019, at which the M4 GT4 finished 2nd. 

Both AVIA Sorg Rennsport BMWs join 11 other GT4 entries already registered for the 2022 Hankook 24H DUBAI on 13-14-15 January. Alongside the former series champions, notable entries include UAE-based Dragon Racing and Korea’s Atlas BX Motorsports, which took GTX and GT4 class honours respectively at the event in 2020, series staple CWS Engineering, and PROsport Racing, which will run two of the four Aston Martin Vantages registered for the 2022 race.